1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to wireless data communication systems and more particularly to systems and methods for providing access points in wireless local area networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of wireless communication devices for data networking is growing at a rapid pace. Data networks that use “WiFi” (“Wireless Fidelity”) are relatively easy to install, convenient to use, and supported by the IEEE 802.11 standard. WiFi data networks also provide performance that makes WiFi a suitable alternative to a wired data network for many business and home users.
WiFi networks operate by employing wireless access points to provide users having wireless (or ‘client’) devices in proximity to the access point with access to data networks. The wireless access points contain a radio that operates according to one of three standards specified in different section of the IEEE 802.11 specification. Radios in access points communicate using omni-directional antennas in order to communicate signals with wireless devices from any direction. The access points are then connected (by hardwired connections) to a data network system that completes the users' access to the Internet.
The three standards that define the radio configurations are:                1. IEEE 802.11 a, which operates on the 5 GHz band with data rates of up to 54 Mbps;        2. IEEE 802.11b, which operates on the 2.4 GHz band with data rates of up to 11 Mbps; and        3. IEEE 802.11g, which operates on the 2.4 GHz band with data rates of up to 54 Mbps.        
The 802.11b and 802.11g standards provide for some degree of interoperability. Devices that conform to 802.11b may communicate with 802.11g access points. This interoperability comes at a cost as access points will incur additional protocol overhead if any 802.11b devices are connected. Devices that conform to 802.11a may not communicate with either 802.11b or g access points. In addition, while the 802.11a standard provides for higher overall performance, 802.11a access points have a more limited range due to their operation in a higher frequency band.
Each standard defines ‘channels’ that wireless devices, or clients, use when communicating with an access point. The 802.11b and 802.11g standards each allow for 14 channels. In IEEE Std. 802.11a-1999, 200 channels are defined; each channel centered every 5 MHz from 5000 MHz to 6000 MHz. The 802.11a standard currently allows for 12 channels in the US. The 14 channels provided by 802.11b and g include only 3 channels that are not overlapping. The 12 channels provided by 802.11a are non-overlapping channels. The FCC is expected to allocate 11 additional channels in the 5.47 to 5.725 GHz band.
Access points provide service to a limited number of users. Access points are assigned a channel on which to communicate. Each channel allows a recommended maximum of 64 clients to communicate with the access point. In addition, access points must be spaced apart strategically to reduce the chance of interference, either between access points tuned to the same channel, or to overlapping channels. In addition, channels are shared. Only one user may occupy the channel at any given time. As users are added to a channel, each user must wait longer for access to the channel thereby degrading throughput.
As more and more users utilize access points for service, there is a need to increase the number of clients served by each access point and to maintain throughput even as the number of clients is increased.